New York - Syracuse - Points of Interest
 The JERRY RESCUE BUILDING, NE. corner of Clinton Square, a dingy four-story brick structure, was erected in 1830 as a police station and is now used as a business office. It received its name from the Jerry Rescue incident of 1851.
Jerry, or William Henry, born in slavery in Buncombe County, North Carolina, about 1812, escaped from his owner and reached Syracuse, where he worked in a cooper's shop making salt barrels until discovered by his owner and arrested. An abolitionist group, headed by Dr.Samuel J. May and Gerrit Smith, attacked the police station, intimidated the guards, and rescued Jerry. He was smuggled from house to house for several days and was finally secretly taken to Canada.
VANDERBILT SQUARE, E.Washington St. between S.Salina and S.Warren Sts., was named for Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who visited the city with his second bride in 1869. From 1837 on, Syracuse life for many years revolved around this square; the magnet was the railroad station, and the hostelries that grew up around it. In the old station Henry Clay was welcomed on his visit to the State Fair in 1849. Daniel Webster, General Winfield Scott, Louis Kossuth, John Brown, Stephen A. Douglas, and other notables were greeted here. On February 18, 1861, Lincoln, on the way to his inauguration, bowed from a coach platform; on April 26, 1865, his funeral train stopped for 30 minutes.
ST.PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SW. corner of Montgomery and E.Fayette Sts., a Victorian Gothic building of limestone erected in 1884, Henry Dudley, architect, is the church home of a congregation organized in 1824. Since that year the congregation has shifted its place of worship three times within an area of two blocks.
The ONONDAGA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION BUILDING, 311 Montgomery St., is a five-story red brick structure donated by William Kirkpatrick in 1906. It contains many early records, portraits, and printed volumes relating to Onondaga County history.
The SYRACUSE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 335 Montgomery St., built in 1902, is a limestone, granite, and brick threestory building designed in the Baroque Revival style; the architect was James A. Randall. The library contains important collections of old manuscripts and early examples of printing, a Whitman collection, and a collection of musical scores.
The STATUE OF COLUMBUS, Montgomery St., on the circular plot in the center of St.Mary's Circle, donated by Syracuse Italian societies in 1934, was designed and executed by Lorenzo Baldi, Italian sculptor.
The ONONDAGA COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 401 Montgomery St., completed in 1906, is a classical structure of stone and marble covering an entire block. The architect was Archimedes Russell. The murals by William de Leftwich Dodge represent episodes in Onondaga Indian history.
The CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, SW. corner of Montgomery and E.Jefferson Sts., was dedicated in 1886 as St.Mary's Church and in 1904 was named the Cathedral Church of the Central New York Roman Catholic Diocese. Of dark weathered Onondaga limestone, the church and the connecting offices are in the Victorian Gothic style.
The MIZPAH HOTEL and FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 215 E.Jefferson St., erected in 1912, Gordon Wright, architect, is a modern fireproof structure with elaborate tracery, mouldings, pinnacles, and tower, designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The church, with a high ceiling and a balcony, occupies the entire plot; the glass ceiling and roof over the platform and organ form the inner open court of the three-story hotel, which is U-shaped in plan. Steel columns supporting the upper structure extend through the church proper.
The STATE TOWER OFFICE BUILDING, 201 E.Genesee St., 22 stories high, is the tallest building in the city. Of concrete.and steel construction with limestone and terra-cotta facing, it was erected in 1928 at a cost of $1,500,000. It occupies the site of the Bastable Theatre, where Mansfield, Irving, Drew, Terry, Goodwin, Bernhardt, and others gave performances.
The WEIGHLOCK BUILDING, 301 Erie Blvd., a two-story graypainted brick structure with bracketed cornice, was constructed in 1950.
In the days of the old Erie Canal it was the weighing station for cargoes. The boats were run into a slip in the rear of the building; the gates were closed and the water was drawn out. This left the boat in dry dock, resting on immense scales. The building now houses the divisional headquarters of the New York State Department of Public Works.
The MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 401 James St., organized in 1896 by Dr. George F. Comfort, was the first museum in the United States to form a permanent collection devoted exclusively to paintings by American artists. It also contains a notable collection of porcelains by Adelaide Alsop Robineau; etchings by Whistler; Japanese prints by Hiroshige and Yami; and other paintings and curios. The National Ceramic Exhibition is held here annually from midOctober to mid-November.
The MAY MEMORIAL CHURCH, 472 James St., known as the First Unitarian Congregational Society and also as the Church of the Alessiah, was built in 1885. It was named in honor-of its abolitionist pastor, Dr. Samuel J. May ( 1797-1871), born in Boston. Before coming to Syracuse he assisted William Ellery Channing in Boston. He was ardent in his support of the woman suffrage and antislavery movements, prominent in the Jerry Rescue, and used his home as a station for the Underground Railroad.
The LEAVENWORTH MANSION, 607 James St., is a Greek Revival structure built in 1842; the full-width front portico has large Ionic columns. General Elias W. Leavenworth ( 1803-87), born in Canaan, New York, practiced law in Syracuse and served as the city's second mayor before entering upon his military career.
In the EDWARD NOYES WESTCOTT HOME, 826 James St., an unpretentious dwelling, Westcott wrote the popular American novel, David Harunt.
The HAROLD MACGRATH HOME, 1618 James St., built in 1912 in the English rural style, was at one time a show place of the city. The garden, surrounded by a poplar hedge, contains rock gardens, pools, and shrubbery. In the house are paintings and bric-a-brac collected by MacGrath in his travels around the world and a number of illustrations prepared for his books. Harold MacGrath ( 1871-1932) was born in Syracuse and served as reporter and columnist on local papers. His numerous books include Arms and the Woman, The Man on the Box, The Goose Girl, and The Grey Cloak.
The LAMSON FACTORY, 200 Lamson St., produces pneumatic tube and conveyor systems. In 1880 William Lamson, to make change for his clerks, cut a croquet ball in half, hollowed out the inside to hold money, and shuttled it across his notions store. From this Yankee idea grew the Lamson conveyor system, widely used in business.
The CONTINENTAL CAN PLANT, entrance at 1016 E.Water St., established in 1905, manufactures yearly about 200,000,000 cans, principally for vegetables, beverages, and dairy products.
The L.C.SMITH TYPEWRITER PLANT, entrance at 701 E.Washington St., is an eight-story red brick factory. The first Smith-Premier typewriter was manufactured in 1887.
The E.C.STEARNS PLANT, 224 Oneida St., makes power and hand mowers, shell hardware, and foundry material. Established in 1860, the plant first manufactured hollow iron tools and specialties, hollow augers, and saw vises. In the nineties it made the popular 'Yellow Fellow' bicycle.
The REPUBLICAN TREE, SW. corner of W.Onondaga St. and South Ave., is the historic elm that shaded the Syracuse editor, Vivus W. Smith, whose home stood near by, Horace Greeley, Thurlow Weed, and William H. Seward, when they met in pre-Civil War years to discuss the formation of the Republican party.
The SYRACUSE CHILLED PLOW PLANT, SE. corner of Marcellus and Wyoming Sts., covers almost two city blocks. Associated with the development of this industry were Thomas Wiard, who began to make plows in Syracuse in 1793, and Harry Wiard, who invented the chilling process in plow manufacture.
The CARRIER CORPORATION PLANT, 302 S.Geddes St., with 31 acres of floor space, employs about 1,500 in the manufacture of air-conditioning equipment.
The CRUCIBLE STEEL PLANT, 104 Magnolia St., covers an area of 10 acres and employs about 1,200 men. High-grade tool steel for knives, cutters, and hammers is the principal product; bar steel and wire are made on order. Started about 1870 by William A. Sweet, the mill was purchased in 1876 by the Sanderson Brothers of Sheffield, England, who operated it until it was purchased in 1900 by the present owners.
The ONONDAGA POTTERY PLANT, 1858 W.Fayette St., is owned by a company organized in 1871, one of the oldest in the industry in the United States. The four-story red brick building covers 14 acres.
BURNET PARK, main entrance at 321 S.Wilbur Ave., the largest park in the city, was donated in 1886 by Major John B. Burnet. Its 135 acres offer facilities for recreation and amusement, including gardens and a Zoo.
The WOODLAWN RESERVOIR AND STANDPIPE, 1900 S.Geddes St., draws its water from Skaneateles Lake, 17 miles southwest of the city. The round, bright red structure atop the hill is the storage tank for the reservoir. This point affords an excellent view of the city and environs.
ELMWOOD PARK, 204 Glenwood Ave., of 25 acres, is a natural beauty spot with a deep gorge through which Furnace Brook runs, so called because the furnace of Nicholas Mickles, in which he cast shot for use in the War of 1812, once stood on its bank.
The OLD ARSENAL SITE, Arsenal Drive and E.Seneca Turnpike, is indicated by a pile of gray stone blocks and a skeleton of walls. The arsenal was built in 1810 as a protection against the Indians; its ruins are Onondaga's only reminder of the War of 1812.
The EXPERIMENTAL STATION of the New York State College of Forestry, 5559 S.Salina St., occupies 93 acres. Since its beginning in 1912, this station has brought under control the strawberry weevil, which attacks the roots of pine and spruce trees, the Canadian saw-fly, which feeds on the leaves of spruce, white, and Norway pine, and the needle-miner, which infests lodgepole pine especially.
The ONONDAGA VALLEY CEMETERY, 1804 Valley Drive, has in it the graves of several old settlers, including those of Asa Danforth and his wife, the wife of Ephraim Webster, and Nicholas Mickles.
The WILL & BAUMER CANDLE FACTORY, SE. corner of Park St. and Buckley Road, one of the largest candle factories in the United States, specializing in ornamental and church candles, dates back to 1855.
The CROUSE HINDS PLANT, NW. comer of Wolf and 7th North Sts., is a three-story, red brick building, covering more than 25 acres. About 1,000 persons are employed in the manufacture. of electric conduit fittings.
The TEMPLE OF THE SOCIETY OF CONCORD, 501 University Ave., a Jewish Reformed house of worship, is built of light gray stone with limestone trim; the style is neoclassic, with an impressive pedimented Doric portico. The society held its first meeting on November 21, 1841, at the residence of Jacob Garson in Mulberry Street ( South State Street).
THORNDEN PARK, foot of University Place, 76 acres purchased in 1922, is considered the most beautiful in the city. The rose garden contains more than 7,000 plants in 150 varieties of hybrids and climbers. The old-fashioned perennial garden has more than 200 varieties of plants. The amphitheater, low in a rocky glen, surrounded by natural slopes for seats, is used for community events. The park also contains a swimming pool, a baseball diamond, a children's playground, and tennis courts.
OAKWOOD CEMETERY, College Place and Euclid Ave., containing 172 acres of sloping, tree-covered land, was dedicated in 1859 in what is known as Dedication Valley.
The cemetery contains the Grave, of Comfort Tyler ( 1764-1827), pioneer settler of Onondaga Valley. Born in Ashford, Connecticut, he enlisted in the Revolutionary Army at the age of 14 and served until the close of the war. With Moses De Witt and others he surveyed the central and western portions of the State. In 1788 he and Major Danforth
pushed into the wilderness and settled in Onondaga Hollow. Colonel Tyler felled the first tree in the Syracuse district, constructed the first piece of turnpike road in the State west of Fort Stanwix, and assisted in the first manufacture of salt. He represented Onondaga in the State legislature in 1798 and 1799.
The SYRACUSE MEDICAL CENTER, 736 Irving Ave., is in five units: the Syracuse Memorial Hospital, the University Hospital, the State Psychopathic Hospital, the University Medical School, and the City Communicable Diseases Hospital. The construction of the medical school building, completed in 1937, was made possible by a PWA grant of $825,000; President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in September 1936. The buildings form a harmonious group in the Georgian style.
The medical school, the oldest unit of Syracuse University, was established in 1834 as the Geneva Medical College, Geneva, New York. Later it was moved to Syracuse and took its present name in 1872. It includes a school of nursing.
The CASTLE, NW. corner of Irving Ave. and University Place, houses the Syracuse University School of Journalism, established in 1934. This rambling ' Norman' building was built in 1851 by James Renwick, architect of St.Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, for C.Tyler Longstreet, who found it 'too large for comfort' and exchanged houses with A.C.Yates. The property was purchased by the university in 1905.

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